Political Model or Model Enemy: Polarising Receptions of Julius Caesar

Modern receptions of Julius Caesar are complex and often contradictory. This complexity derives from the nature of Caesar’s character, the biases of the ancient accounts and the individual circumstances governing the receptions. This seminar argues that modern receptions select an image of Caesar derived from the ancient accounts or construct an image within the parameters they create. In the years following his assassination, Caesar was used positively and negatively, either as a political model or a model enemy. Caesar’s successors and assassins respectively deployed these approaches, the former by stressing their connections to Caesar, the latter by emphasising Caesar’s faults as an attempt to justify the righteousness of their cause. Modern receptions have long been governed by these parameters. Individuals could emphasise their links to Caesar to bolster their claims to power. Alternatively, one could identify their opponent as being a Caesar-like tyrant, just as the conspirators identified Caesar as a tyrant. This seminar demonstrates that the parameters established by ancient portrayals are exceedingly useful in deciphering contradictory modern receptions of Caesar.